How real estate businessman Niranjan Hiranandani took on an online imposter

Hiranandani recently found out that someone had allegedly created fake social media accounts using his name and was trying to communicate with his friendsSujata Reddy | ET Bureau | Updated: March 30, 2017, 09:24 IST

After his email account was hacked about a decade ago, Niranjan Hiranandani, MD of the Hiranandani Group, knew that it wouldn't be the last time.

And sure enough, he recently found out that someone had allegedly created fake social media accounts using his name and was trying to communicate with his friends.

The miscreant reportedly tried to collect confidential personal and professional details by impersonating Hiranandani and chatting with people he knew.

'The person going by Niranjan Hiranandani on Facebook started communicating with prominent people'

Hiranandani promptly filed a formal complaint with Mumbai's Powai police and contacted the cyber crime branch too. The accounts have now been deleted.

However, he says he wouldn't be surprised if he finds himself facing the same situation for the third time. Hiranandani says, “There was no negative activity from the accounts created on my name in the past, so I didn't bother reporting them. But this time, the person going by Niranjan Hiranandani on Facebook started communicating with prominent people, including politicians like Milind Deora. That's when I realised this was a serious matter.“

Hiranandani says that he was alerted to this issue, when friends at a party asked him why he was making strange inquiries about himself on social media.

Adopting a practical approach, Hiranandani says that incidents like these don't stress him out at all. “You can't control all that happens around you. And there is an energy limitation to refute all that is said on Facebook and on Twitter. But if you realise that someone is abusing social media, directly or indirectly, then it's time to complain.“

'People could believe that I am in touch with them through these (online) mediums'

Being a part of India's rich list, Hiranandani says his biggest concern is that the impersonator will gain access to money using his name through social media.

“I am a very friendly person. People could believe that I am in touch with them through these mediums. No one would believe that someone at my level would be a friendly person -I don't know if it's a plus or negative point - but I am a friendly person,“ Hiranandani says with a laugh.

His friendly disposition, he adds, gives impersonators an advantage when it comes to sweet-talking someone into lending them money.“If this person manages to talk like me and convince someone that it's me chatting with them and then asked for Rs 1,00,000, then that person wouldn't hesitate to send this money,“ he says, expressing worry.

Citing examples of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google's CEO Sundar Pichai whose social media accounts were hacked in the recent past, Hiranandani says that as long as there is social media, such menace is to be expected.

“There are always going to be problems and crime in the world. Burglary never ends. So many people steal or commit rape and even though they are caught and punished, it happens again. So I don't think crime will never end. Complaining will help because at least they wil know to stay away from you,“ says Hiranandani.